The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

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PUNJAB

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

PUNJAB

Amritsar
AIDS AWARENESS: The Field Publicity Officer of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting organised an AIDS awareness camp at ITI, Rayya, here on Saturday. Dr Dinesh Kapur of the State Health Department said Rayya block followed Khadoor Sahib in the number of AIDS cases that have been reported.

OLD-AGE PENSION: Pension for the aged, widows and handicapped is likely to start next week. This was stated by Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, during the 24th public contact programme at Varpal village here on Saturday. The Deputy Commissioner said about 99 per cent of inquiries regarding pensioners in Amritsar had been completed.

MAN DEAD: Gurmail Singh, son of Mohinder Singh of Nurpur Lubana, died due to severe cold near Pul Pukhta village on Friday night, police sources said here on Saturday.

Prisoner Dies: Zaila Ram, an undertrial prisoner of District Jail, Hoshiarpur, died at the local Civil Hospital on Friday. Zaila Ram was in judicial custody since December 15, 2003. The Sub-divisional Magistrate, Hoshiarpur, has been deputed to conduct an inquiry into the cause of his death.

Hoshiarpur
ARRESTED: Daler Singh, member of an inter-state looters’ gang has been arrested under sections 395 and 341, IPC, Mr Lok Nath Angra, SSP, Hoshiarpur, said here on Sunday that Daler Singh, who hailed from Kurukshetra district (Haryana), was produced in the court and remanded in police custody till January 29.

PATIALA
FOUNDATION STONE: Municipal Corporation Mayor Vishnu Sharma laid down the foundation stone of a government dispensary to be built at a cost of nearly Rs 3 lakh in Wards No. 23 here on Sunday. He also laid down the foundation stone of the concrete road being built at cost of nearly Rs 85,000 in Ward No. 23.

INVITED: Dr Raman K. Verma, Department of Chemistry, Punjabi University, has been invited to present his research work at the IUPCA international conference on biodiversity and natural products: chemistry and medical application” being organised by the University of Delhi and the CSIR, New Delhi, from January 26 to 31.

Phagwara
PROTEST MARCH: The All-India Federation of University and College Teachers Organisations (AIFUCTO) will hold a march to the residence of Prime Minister on February 16 and court arrest there in protest against the failure of Government to implement the already conceded demands and the agreement of September 5, 1998. This was stated in a press note here on Saturday by Dr V.K. Tewari, national secretary, AIFUCTO.

CHANDIGARH

PUBLIC RALLY: Mr Venkai Naidu, president of the Bhartiya Janata party, will address a public rally here on February 1, a press note said here on Sunday. The rally will be organised as part of the Atal Sandesh Yatra. The yatra went to houses and shops at Burail village and Sector 45 in the morning. In the evening it went to Mauli Jagran village. Mr Saya Pal Jain, a former member of Parliament, said the election would be fought in the context of 50 years of Congress rule versus the last five years of BJP rule.

WELCOMED: The Business Research Scholar Association, Panjab University, has welcomed the decision of the PU Syndicate to defer charging of contingency funds from research scholars. Mr Anshu Kataria, president of the association, said that efforts should be made to increase the infrastructural facilities for research in the university.

UNION ELECTION: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Tandoor Workers Union chairman — Mr V.P. Wadhera; president — Mr Swaran Singh; vice president — Mr Makhan Singh; general secretary — Mr Vishambar Dass. office secretary — Mr Sardari Lal; treasurer — Mr Narinder Singh; deputy treasurer — Mr Raj Kumar, and executive members — Mr Tara Chand, Mr Harbhajan Singh, Mr Surinder Singh, Mr Chaman Lal, Ms Bachani Devi, Ms Vidya Devi and Mr Roshan lal.

SEMINAR: A seminar on increasing corruption in public life” was organised by the All-India Freedom Fighters Organisation at English Auditorium of Panjab University here on Sunday. The seminar was organised in memory of late Jiwan Dass Ahuja, freedom fighter. Those who spoke on the occasion included Prof Krishan Chand Ahuja, a social activist, Mr Vijay Sehgal, a former Editor of Dainik Tribune, and Mr Joginder Dayal, state Secretary of the Communist Party of India.

MOHALI
BOARD FUNCTION: The Punjab School Education Board will organise a prize distribution function here on January 29 for the winners of the state-level academic competitions for elementary and senior secondary classes. Mr Khushal Behl, Education Minister, Punjab, will give away the prizes.

HARYANA

Bhiwani
MEETING: The NDA government has given full honour to martyrs and a separate committee has been constituted to resolve the problems of ex-servicemen and war widows. This was stated by Dr Sudha Yadav, MP from Mahendergarh parliamentary constituency, while addressing a meeting held to solve the problems of war widows here on Saturday.

Yamunanagar
WORKSHOP: The University Grant Commission and the state government are trying to grant the deemed university status to top institutions of Haryana. Mr Dharamvir, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Department of Technical Education, Haryana, while addressing the students and staff of the Tilak Raj Chadha Institute of Management and Technology (TIMT) at a workshop on communication skills here on Saturday, said that the institute must work hard in this connection. Mr Ashok Kumar, Chairman, Governing Body, TIMT, said the seminar was attended by more than 600 participants.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Dharamsala
VISIT: The wife of Himachal Chief Minister, Ms Pratibha Singh, visited Prayas, the District Red Cross Society building and inspected various facilities provided here on Saturday. She was accompanied by Ms Uma Baldi, chairperson of the District Red Cross Society. Mr Pratibha Singh showed keen interest in the de-addiction centre and the centre for physically handicapped.

Solan
INJURED: A Railways gardener, Shubkaran, sustained compound fractures when he was hit by a speeding Mazda coming from Shimla at Chambhaghat crossing no. 5-A on Friday. The driver of Mazda Ravinder Kumar, a resident of Batola village, has been booked for rash and negligent driving and his vehicle impounded.

Sundernagar
RESENTMENT: The resentment is prevailing in the cadre of mechanical engineers of the Irrigation and Public Health Department as the Government has started posting civil engineers in the two mechanical workshops run by the I&PH Department. Earlier, mechanical engineers were posted in these workshops as the work in these workshops is purely mechanical. The two mechanical workshops, which are run by the department are situated in Baggi adjoining to Sundernagar and at Gagret in Una district.