The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, May 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

R E G I O N A L B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
MARRIAGE ACT: The district unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has demanded the early enactment of the “anand” marriage Act. Party’s district president Sodhi Balbir Singh said the speedy enactment could facilitate registration of marriages among Sikhs living abroad.

KHARAR
ANTI-DRUG RALLY: Indian Public School, Kharar, organised an anti-drug rally on Friday. The rally was led by Col C.S. Cheema (retd), Principal of the school. It passed through various parts of Kharar.

PATIALA
ROTARY AWARD: The Rotary Club here on Thursday conferred Vocational Excellence Award to the Government Mohindra College Principal, Dr R.K. Sharma. The award was conferred to the Principal by former Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor, Dr Bhagat Singh, at a function organised at the Academy of Sikh Religion and Culture here.

PHAGWARA
YOUTH ATTACKED: A youth, Inderjit, of Phuglana village was waylaid on Thursday by 12 youths weilding sharp-edged weapon. He was wounded critically near Panshta village. Old enmity is said to be the cause of the attack. The police has registered a case.

RELAY FAST: A former Punjab minister, Chaudgary Swarna Ram, was among the 21-member batch of the followers of Thakurdwara Bairagian observing the relay fast here which entered its fifth day on Friday. They are demanding the withdrawal of cases against the followers and an apology from the officials who had allegedly denigrated the maryada of the temple by lathicharging the followers on May 9.

PHILLAUR
ENCROACHMENT: The Panchayat Ghar of nearby Shahpur village here has been encroached upon by members of gurdwara committee. They have allegedly covered a well situated in the panchayat ghar with a permanent cement lintel. A former sarpanch, Mr Swaran Singh, said officers concerned had not paid heed to their repeated requests.

TARN TARAN
NEW SDM: Mr Bakhtawar Singh took charge as the SDM on Thursday. He replaced Mr Bhupinder Singh, who has been transferred to Amritsar.

CHANDIGARH

DIRECTORY: The Residents Directory of Sector 55 was released on the behalf of the CHB Flats Residents Welfare Association here on Friday. Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former Member of Parliament, presided over the function. The directory contains 102 pages. Mr Mahesh Sharma, organising secretary, conducted the stage whole Mr G.S.Thakur, president, proposed the vote of thanks.

MINISTERIAL STAFF: Mr Gaurav Sharma was elected as president of the Ministerial Staff Association of the Directorate of Haryana Education Department here, on Friday. Other office-bearers elected include general secretary — Mr Suresh Kumar Yadav; vice-president — Mr Jawahar Lal; organising secretary — Mr Vinay Kumar Kaushal; and cashier — Mr Om Prakash Kundu.

NURSING OPPORTUNITIES: The USA is facing a severe shortage of nurses, which presently stands at 1.26 lakh and will rise to 10 lakh by the year 2010 ,forcing the government to search for nurses from other countries, said Mr Donal H. Frieberg an immigration attorney from the USA, during a seminar on Nurses Immigration here on Friday. Mr Shirley R. Villanueva , president of Alpha International Employment Services, said it was a golden opportunity for nurses who wanted to relocate their career in the USA.

PANCHKULA
CITIZENS’ GROUSE: The Citizens’ Welfare Association has decried the poor management of sanitation facilities in the town by the Municipal Council. In a press note, Mr S.K. Nayar, president of the forum has alleged that the sanitation facilities have been deteriorating ever since the facilities in developed sectors have been handed over to municipal council. He has alleged that parks in various sectors remain littered with garbage and the dustbins were not emptied regularly. He said though the residents were being charged taxes, no money had been spent on development works in the township during the past two years since the council was formed.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

NAHAN
HAILED: Senior leaders of the district have hailed the appointment of Mr Rupinder Singh Thakur, general secretary and spokesman of the Sirmour District Congress Committee, as Director of the Himachal Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd for a period of two years.

DEMAND: In a communication sent to the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, more than 1000 Muslims of Sirmour district have urged him to appoint a Congress worker of Bilaspur district, Mr Gulam Mohinudeen, as Chairman of the H.P. Minority Finance and Development Corporation.

NURPUR
1 KILLED: Amar Singh of Danni village was injured seriously when he got buried in a wall collapse on Thursday. He was rushed to the Zonal Hospital, Dharamsala, where he succumbed to injuries. The deceased was repairing the wall when the mishap occurred.

PAONTA SAHIB
FAKE CURRENCY SEIZED: Amar Singh has been arrested for possessing fake currency. A case has been registered against him under Sections 489 and 420, IPC. He belongs to Sehaspur village in Dehra Dun (Uttaranchal). The accused was later produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and remanded in custody till May 24.

FOUR HELD: Four persons involved in a murder case have been arrested. They had allegedly murdered two brothers on January 15, 1999. The accused Sayeed, Mehraj, Jameel and Farkan, belong to Sangipur village of Hardwar (Uttaranchal).

PARWANOO
DOG BITES 20 PERSONS: About 20 persons of the town were reportedly bitten by a stray dog on Thursday. As per the information, a stray dog entered the slum area of Sector-2, and started biting residents. They immediately informed Raja Ram, Municipal Council of Ward No. 4. Some persons were referred to CRI Hospital at Kasauli from ESI Hospital, Parwanoo.

FIRE: A fire broke out in a factory in Sector 1 on Thursday. As per the information, Manohar Jaswal and Ajay Kumar were doing some welding work in Himfed Bottling Plant in Sector 1 when the spirit lying near the weldings machine caught fire. Manohar Jaswal and Ajay Kumar received burn injuries and were admitted to ESI Hospital.