R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

AMLOH
FAULTY NOMINATION: Senior Akali leader and former minister Dalip Singh Pandhi has criticised the way the panchayat election nominations were conducted. Talking to mediapersons here on Friday, he said due to the confusion, nominations for only three out of the 95 gram panchayats in Amloh block were filed on the first two days. The returning officers of seven clusters had failed to display the lists of nominees daily on the notice boards with serial number which was mandatory, said Mr Pandhi. In this confusion, many ineligible persons would be benefited, he observed. He said similar reports were received from other parts of the state. 

POOR CONDITION OF ROAD: A deputation of traders and shopkeepers of Amloh main bazaar, in a memorandum addressed to Mr Amarjit Singh Shahi, SDM, urged him on Saturday to intervene and get the condition of the bazaar road improved. During rains the situation deteriorated affecting their business. The SDM directed the Municipal Council to take immediate steps in this matter. The council chief, Mr Baldev Singh Aulakh, said the problem had arisen due to lack of proper staff and he was striving to get requisite staff appointed so that incomplete works could be completed. 

TRANSFORMER REPLACEMENT: The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) had failed to replace the Ujjagar Singh Wala transformer at Ladpur village, near here, for the past two weeks, said Mr Baldev Singh Mianpur, state president, Bharti Kisan Union, after meeting the Executive Officer of the PSEB, Amloh, to mediapersons on Friday. The Executive Officer advised him to approach the higher authorities for the supply of requisite material. He said the power supply was erratic and in some urban areas supply was made through rural feeders. 

AMRITSAR
CONCLUDED: A 10-day hiking and trekking camp of women students organised by Youth Welfare Department of Guru Nanak Dev University concluded at the holiday home of the university at Dalhousie. This was informed in a university press note issued here on Friday.

COMPUTERISATION: The entire record of the Improvement Trust here would be computerised and will be available on its website. The newly appointed Chairperson of the trust Ms Ratna announced this here on Friday. Addressing officers and staff of the trust she said the record of allottees, their respective installments, various scheme, including allotment of plots and flats through draw of lots for economically weaker section and all such related and other activities would also be available for the net users. She announced the development of commercial plaza on 1.7 acres on Court Road.

HOSHIARPUR
CRITICISED: Mr Tikshan Sud, former state minister and BJP MLA, criticised Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab, for nominating chairmen of 29 boards and corporations of state after the recent appointments of chairmen of Improvement Trusts. In a press note issued here on Friday he said out of the 29 newly appointed chairmen, 19 were MLAs. He pointed out that almost all development works in the state had come to a stand still on account of financial crisis being faced by the state government and the mass appointments of chairmen of various boards and corporations would adversely affect the development process in state.

CASE REGISTERED: The Dasuya police has registered a case under Sections 406 and 420, IPC, against ‘travel agents’ Gian Singh and his wife Gurbax Kaur of Goraya for allegedly duping Manjit Kaur, wife of Balbir Singh of Bodal village on the pretext of sending her son abroad. According to the FIR Gian Singh and his wife took Rs 3.66 lakh from Manjit Kaur for sending her son Inderjit Singh to the New Zealand. But they neither sent Inderjit Singh to New Zealand nor returned the money and his passport.

KAPURTHALA
SUWIDHA CENTRE: The Punjab Chief Secretary, Mr Rajan Kashyap, inaugurated SUWIDHA centre in the DC Office on Saturday to provide single-window system to the citizens. He said it was a significant step towards E-governance and use of IT to provide services to the common man. He stressed upon the need to provide various services through different departments under one roof through SUWIDHA. The Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Verma, informed that the project had been implemented with support from NIC. The common man will not have to go to different places and to different seats to submit his papers and for other formalities.

LUDHIANA
WHEEL TEAM: The following team of the Inner Wheel for the year 2003-2004 was announced at the last meeting held at Sutlej Club on June 19: president — Mrs Madhu Khosla; secretary — Mrs Namrta Singhania; treasurer — Mrs Kalyani Rai; vice-presidnet — Mrs Sunita Ahuja; joint secretary — Mrs Darshi Chhatwal; counsellor — Mrs Tripta Sood; co-counsellor — Mrs Raksha Nayyar; editor — Mrs Poonam Bindra; ISO — Mrs Brinda Sethi; extension organiser — Mra Parveen Narang; and club correspondent — Mrs Manjula Jain. 

COURIER SERVICES: There is concern among the trade and industry over the proposal of the courier companies to increase service rates by about 35 per cent. Since the trade and commerce depends on private courier services, the rise will put undue financial burden on all types of businesses. Mr P.D. Sharma, president, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says, the courier business is worth Rs 3,500 crore and of this 1,000 crore comes from the organised sector. He says the proposed hike is due to 60 per cent hike on baggage rates for on board couriers. The air lines have increased these rates from June 16. Earlier, the rates by air lines, there are service charges on couriers. Thus the effective rise in courier rates may be between 35 to 45 per cent. 

FREE TRAINING: The Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Gujarkhan Campus, is imparting free training in group discussion and interview to the students seeking admission to the MBA and MCA courses in various universities. Dr A.S. Bansal, Director, said training would be given from June 21 to 24 to hone their communication skills, remove fear psychosis and instil more confidence and leadership values in them. 

AWARD: The Friendship Forum of India, New Delhi, has selected Prof Santosh Singh Bedi, Professor of Physics, Punjab Agricultural University, for the Bharat Excellence Award for 2003. He will get an award, prize money, a gold medal and a certificate of excellence on July 29 at New Delhi during a conference on “Economic growth and national unity”. Prof Bedi has headed the department from February, 1995, to May, 1999. He has also been a member of the Research Board of Advisers with the American Bibliographical Institute. 

MEETING: A meeting of the local medical officers was held by the Health Department at the Civil Surgeon’s office here on Friday. Dr S.N. Tewari, Civil Surgeon, directed the medical officers to be punctual and sincere towards their work. Dr Neelam Bassi, District Family Welfare Officer, said the department would provide more benefits to the people under the family welfare scheme. Dr G.K. Bansal, District Leprosy Officer, said leprosy was a curable disease and its medicine could be procured free of cost from any government dispensary. Dr Ajit Chawla briefed the officers on water-borne diseases like jaundice, typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria and dengue. He said precautions should be taken to present diseases. 

EMPOWERING VILLAGERS: Amaron Harvest tractor batteries from Amara Raja has initiated a programme ‘Amaragaon’ to empower rural people by giving them access to knowledge through internet connectivity. The progamme has been introduced in four villages across India. In Punjab, Amara Raja has adopted Chachrari village, near Phagwara. As many as 3,000 people are being benefited under this programme. Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the executive vice-president, Amara Raja Batteries, Mr S. Ramachandra, said the objective of the Amaragaon progamme was to make a positive impact on the lives of villagers by offering global connectivity via internet. 

ELECTED: At the annual meeting of the Punjab Kisan Club at Kairon Kisan Ghar, PAU, the executive committee for the next two years was elected recently. Mr Baldev Singh Landha, a leading beekeeper, has been elected president and Ms Harjinder Kaur, vice-president of the club with the additional charge of president of the women wing. Mr Pavittarpal Singh Pangli, who specialises in garlic and onion cultivation, will also be the vice-president of the club. Mr Hardev Singh Ghanaur, Mr Jatinder Pal Singh Gill and Mr Major Singh have been elected secretary, cashier and assistant cashier, respectively, while Mr Sukhwinder Singh Kotli is the assistant secretary. In addition, 16 other agriculturists have been elected members of the executive committee. 

CONGRESS: Dr J.L. Bassi, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, DMCH, attended a week-long congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology from June 4 to 10 in Helsinki, Finland. As many as 8,000 participants from all over the world took part in this congress. 

MANDI GOBINDAGARH
PRESS CLUB FORMED: A press club was formed here on Friday and the following were elected its office-bearers president - Ram Chet; vice-president - Kuldip Singh Satrana; general secretary - Iqbaldeep Singh Sandhu; cashier - Baljinder Singh Nasrali, chief patrons - Anil Suraj, Bhushan Sood, Besides, Kishore Chand, Danesh Gaur and Parveen Mattoo were elected as executive members. 

DECISION ON TCS HAILED: The government decision to defer the tax collection at source (TCS) till September 1 has been hailed by the All India Steel Re-Rollers Association (AISRA). This was stated by Mr Surinder Singhi, National Executive member of the AISRA, in a press note issued here today. The TCS was earlier made applicable from June 1, 2003, under Section 206-C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The government had taken this decision due to difference of opinion among tax experts regarding tax collection at source on scrap. Mr Singhi said the TCS on scrap was unjustified and uncalled for. This section should be scrapped. 

MANSA
SALE OF MEDICINES: Mr Raj Kamal Chowdhary, District Magistrate, Mansa, issued orders on Friday that no chemist in the district, whether a retailer or wholesaler, will sell, whether by retail or wholesale 34 various types of sedatives, pain killers, anti-allergic, anti-histamines, injections, cough syrups without a prescription from a Registered Medical Practitioner. The District Magistrate has also directed in the public interest that all/medical drug stores will maintain complete record of their current stock, sales purchase, register, which will be available for inspection to all Executive Magistrates, police officers of the rank of DSP and above or any other person specially authorised by the District Magistrate in writing. The orders issued on Friday will remain effective till August 19. 

NAWANSHAHR
INAUGURATED: Mr Tarlochan Singh Soond, MLA, Banga, inaugurated the ‘free bus service’ started by the Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust, Dhahan Kaleran for the convenience of patients visiting the hospital being run by the trust, at Banga, about 12 km from here on Friday. The Trust would ply the bus at 9.10 a.m. and 11 a.m., daily from Banga bus stand to the hospital, informed Ms Sushil Kaur, PRO.

WLL TELEPHONES: The local BSNL telephone exchange is gearing up to launch WLL telephone facility in the month of July. The telephone exchange is being augmented for the purpose so that the latest tele-communication facilities could be provided to the BSNL subscribers. In the first phase of the scheme, as many as 750 WLL connections would be provided. As many as 500 WLL telephones each to the subscribers of Rahon and Aur BSNL Telephone Exchanges would also be provided. The BSNL would get the WLL Telephone sets insured, disclosed the local BSNL authorities. With a view to provide telephone facilities to the applicants who have not been given landline telephone connections for want of technical feasibility, BSNL has chalked otu a plan to provide WLL telephone connections to them.

PATIALA
EMPLOYEES’ DHARNA: Employees of the Punjab PWD and the B&R branch staged a dharna here on Saturday to protest against the decision to shift the department office to the newly built district administration complex. The convener of the Joint Action Committee, Mr Darshan Singh, said the new building had been constructed to provide accommodation to district-level offices while state-level offices had been allowed to function from their existing offices. 

PHAGWARA
ROAD MISHAP: A 24-year-old motorcyclist, Amrit Lal, was killed in a collision between a bus and his motorcycle on GT road here on Thursday night. The deceased was a resident of the local Gobindpura Nangal Colony. The accident took place near a local cinema.

SEIZED: The police nabbed Parminder in the Chahal Nagar area on Saturday and seized 500 gms of charas from him. Parminders belongs to the Kazi Mandi area of Jalandhar. He was nabbed under Sections 20, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

POWER BREAKDOWN: The Scheme No 3 locality of Improvement Trust Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Palahi road, had a power breakdown for 14.40 hours on Friday. The power supply that got disrupted around 9.45 p.m. on Friday was restored around 12.25 on Saturday afternoon. Some residents alleged that when they went to the area office in the night they found that the duty linesman was drunk. However, the local Executive Engineer, PSEB, Mr Chander Kiran, denied this. He said a brick structure had fallen on an electricity cable which damaged a pole that caused the power breakdown, in the locality.

1 HELD: The police had nabbed Nishan Singh of Mattewal village and recovered a stolen truck and fake documents from him. The arrest was made under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 379 and 34, IPC, according to a press note issued on Saturday. On getting information from Nishan Singh, the police also nabbed Kamal Kishore of Jalandhar. He allegedly was the man who made the fake documents. The police recovered a fake stamp of ITO, Jalandhar, and a punch used for stamping engines, and chasis from him.

SAMRALA
POWER SUPPLY: In view of the paddy season and commitment of the PSEB to give uninterrupted power supply to the farmers, Mr N.K. Dharmani, Chief Engineer (South), Patiala, along with the Superintending Engineer, Mr Surinder Pal, and Mr C.S. Mann, Senior Executive Engineer, Samrala, visited many villages in Ghulal division and met the farmers. The Chief Engineer said the farmers demanded a minimum 12-hour regularly supply of electricity. However, leaders of the BKU complained that single-phase supply of electricity did not serve their purpose. 

SARPANCH: Mr Randhir Singh was elected sarpanch unanimously of the Rajewal village panchayat along with seven panches, according to Mr Baljeet Singh, Block Developoment and Panchayat Officer, here on Saturday. 

OFFICE-BEARERS: Mr Jaspal Singh Jassi, SDM, and president, Community Centre Club, has nominated the following executive body of the club for the next year: vice-president — Mr Parminder Singh Gill; secretary — Mr Rajiv Kumar Marwaha; and cashier — Mr Anil Gupta; and executive members — Mr Uttam Chand, Mr Anil Sood, Mr Nirmal Singh Nagra, Mr Naveen Khullar, Mr S.S. Guron, Dr J.P. Singh, Mr Padam Jain, Mr Rakesh Gupta, Mr Sanjeev Kapoor, Mr Harpal Singh Dhillon and Mr Gurtej Pal Singh.

SANGRUR 
CAMP: The local Blood Donors and Health Care Society (regd) held a blood grouping camp on Friday at the Government In-service Teachers Training Centre here. Mr Harmohan Singh, Chairman of the society, said blood grouping 133 teachers had been done at the camp. Mr Sukhdev Singh Jassal, president of the Senior Citizen’s Welfare Society, donated Rs 1,100 while the teachers donated Rs 2,200 on the spot to the society to promote the blood-donation programme. 

CHANDIGARH

ASSOCIATION: Alumni of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 35, have formed an old students’ association. Christened Association of Thirtyfive Model Alumni (ATMA), its first general body meeting was held here on Saturday. Misha Pratap has been elected President. Jithun Nair, Aviral Vyas and Kunal Jindal vice- president, general secretary and joint secretary, respectively, while Jai Gopal, Jaideep and Shamsheer have been nominated as the treasurer, PRO and event manager, respectively. 

HARYANA

KURUKSHETRA
INAUGURATED: The Kurukshetra University Vice-Chancellor, Dr A.K. Chawla, inaugurated a national-level mobile exhibition — 100 years of Nobel Prize at the premises of Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre here on Friday. Dr Chawla described the exhibition as an inspiration for the people in general and for students in particular to do something new. Appreciating the Central Government’s efforts in this direction of promoting scientific attitude among the people, Dr Chawla said the Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre here was playing an important role for the propagation of science knowledge. 

YAMUNANAGAR
ELECTED: Mr Deepak Sharma, a student of Mukand Lal National College of Yamunanagar, has been selected to represent India in the World Yoga Championship being held at Portugal from July 18 to 20. Dr Ramesh Sharma, Principal of Mukand Lal National College Yamunanagar, informed here on Friday that Mr Deepak Sharma is a student of B.Sc. IIIrd year (Electronics).

CHAIN SNATCHING: The Yamunanagar police registered two cases of chain snatching on Saturday. A youth snatched gold chain from Neelam at Shastri Colony on Friday and fled. On an FIR lodged by Neelam the police has registered a case under Section 356, IPC. In another case a youth snatched chain from a woman, Trishma, at Bypass Chowk here on Friday.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

MANDI
KILLED: Gobind Ram, Panchayat Pradhan of Mahog in remote Karsog valley allegedly killed Ghumi Ram of Bangood village on Thursday. The police has arrested Gobind Ram and a case under Section 302, IPC, has been registered. According to the police there was an altercation between the Panchayat Pradhan and Krishan Lal who wanted help under the IRDP. The deceased was trying to pacify them. In the meantime the pradhan picked up a stone and threw it at Krishan Lal which hit Ghumi Ram who became unconscious and later died. The body was handed over to the family after post-mortem examination. 

RAIL LINK: Mr Suresh Chandel, member from Hamirpur Parliamentary Constituency, declared on Thursday that work on railway line from Una to Churdu would be completed soon and up to Churdu it will be electrified. He disclosed that a proposal to introduce two more trains was also under consideration. He was addressing BJP party workers at Harley Rest House, 12 km from here. Mr Chandel said keeping in view the shortage of drinking water supply in Kutlehar constituency in Una district, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 13 crore for drinking water supply scheme from Kohdera to Tutru which will provide drinking water to about 17 gram panchayats. The scheme has been sanctioned under the ARP project and for first phase of this scheme Rs 5 crore have been sanctioned, he said.