R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

LUDHIANA
Students excel: Students of the All Saints Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, College of Physiotherapy. Sidhwan Kalan, have bagged eight top ranks in Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, University Examination (BPT 1) this year. The students rankwise are: Anjana Guleria, Kosh, and Ankur Paul (740 marks)each, Natash Sharma (721 marks), Kirandeep Kaur (704 marks), Shiwani Ghai (676 marks), Shiwani Gupta (670 marks), Ramneet Kaur (657 marks) and Priyanaka Gupta (652 marks).

Mandi Gobindgarh
ALLEGATIONS: The Bharatiya Janta Party, Amloh Mandal president, Mr Ram Niwas Jain, alleged in a press release here on Tuesday that Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Singh, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Raghuvansh Partap Singh were trying their best to drive away the attention of people from the issues of tainted ministers by creating new problems in the country. That was way they tried to ‘entangle’ Uma Bharti for unfurling the national flag.

Nawanshahr
TOPPED: Students of Amardeep Singh Shergill Memorial College, Mukandpur (Nawanshahr) have topped in the M.Sc (IT) examination conducted by the GND varsity. While Ms Ubeeka Jain secured 77.16 per cent marks, Kirandeep Gurha 76.7 per cent and Ramandeep Kaur 74.7 per cent, respectively. This was stated by Dr Surjit Singh Bhatti, Principal of the college.

ORGANISED: The Youth Club of Amardeep Singh Shergill Memorial College, Mukandpur, Nawanshahr organised a debate on “Impact of media on present generation” on the college campus here on Tuesday. Ms Rajwant Kaur, Ms Kunika and Ms Rajbir Kaur won the first three positions. Dr Surjit Singh Bhatti, Principal, gave away the prizes.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP: The Railway Road Shopkeepers Association organised a voluntary blood donation camp here on Tuesday. Mr Balwant Sudhera, a social worker, inaugurated the camp. As many as 51 units of blood were donated. This was stated by Mr Jugal Kishore Dutta, president of the association.

SEMINAR: An one-day seminar was organised here on Tuesday at Government Senior Secondary School by the District Sarv Shikhiya Abhiyan Authority with a view to seeking suggestions from teachers on the syllabus of bridge course for the children in the age group of 6 to 14 years admitted in the EGS centers for ensuring 100 per cent literacy. Mr Ajit Ram Khaitan, District Education Officer, presided over the seminar.

ORGANISED: The Lions Club, City Smile, Banga, organised a tree plantation function on the premises of the Telephone Exchange, Banga, 12 km from here, on Tuesday. Mr Jatinder Singh Kundi, district chairman( environment), was the chief guest and Mr Baldev Nayyar, a veteran member of the Lions Club, presided over the function. As many as 50 saplings were planted on the occasion.

PATIALA
WATER COOLER: The State Bank of Patiala installed a water cooler at the traffic police picket near Kali Devi Mandir to mark the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib here on Wednesday. The officials also distributed sweets and eatables among the poor and the needy.

SAPLINGS PLANTED: The District Social Welfare Samaj planted saplings at the local Rajindra Hospital to mark the occasion of 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib here Wednesday. President of the samaj Madan Lal Goyal urged the people to follow the preaching and ideals of Guru Granth Sahib and spread the message of universal brotherhood and peace.

Phagwara
CRUSHED: A 25-year-old youth, Karan, of Palahigate was crushed by a speeding truck on the GT Road, near Gol Chowk, here on Tuesday. The police impounded the truck and registered a case under Sections 304 and 427 of the IPC.

Samrala
Celebrated: 400TH Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Granth Sahib was celebrated here today in all Gurdwaras with great pomp and show. Gurdwaras were decorated. On this occasion Mr J.S. Jassi, SDM, Samrala, MLA, Amrik Singh Dhillon, DSP Jasveer Singh and SGPC member Jathedar Kirpal Singh Kheernian appealed the participants to follow the footsteps of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Langar was distributed to all.

Laddoos distributed: Members of the local Bar room distributed laddoos in connection with the celebrations of Guru Granth Sahib Parkash Utsav, yesterday.

Dental camp: A free dental camp is being organised in the name of Khullar Kul Devi Jaur Mela on September 10 in Manupur village, 13 km from here, according to Mr Kuldeep Khullar, spokesman of the Khullar Kul Devi. Many dignitory personalities of Punjab will participate, Mr Khullar added.

CHANDIGARH

RED CROSS: The UT Red Cross has given financial assistance at the rate of Rs 500 per month to 13 blind students of various colleges in the city. This information was given here on Tuesday by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Arun Kumar, who is also the president of the Red Cross. He said this would be available to beneficiaries till the completion of their graduation. He said if there was any blind student who had not received this help, he could contact the Red Cross office, Karuna Sadan Building, Sector 11, Chandigarh.

Panchkula
Camp: A blood donation camp was organised at Sant Nirankari Mandal, Pinjore, on Monday. The Tehsildar, Kalka, Mr V.S. Bathla, was the chief guest on the occasion.

BJP meeting: A meeting of the district BJP unit was held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of the district President, Mr Baldev Nayyar. It was decided that 15 members of the party from the district will go to Bangalore on September 4 and court arrest there on September 7 to show solidarity with Ms Uma Bharti.

HARYANA

AMBALA
AWARDED: Dr Anil Jain, president, Vaiseshika Electron Devices, Ambala Cantonment, has received national award for quality products in instrumentation. Dr Jain received the award from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at a function held at the Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on Monday. The programme marked the golden jubilee celebrations of the Small Industries Development Organisation, Ministry of Industries.

Medical camp: A medical camp was organised at Chaudhary Devi Lal Vridh Ashram in Ambala City on Wednesday. Inmates of the ashram were examined at the camp. The check up was carried out free of cost.

TALK: A talk on safe use of LPG was organised by Baldev Gas Service on Wednesday. Capt Baldev (retd) said the talk was held for rural customers of Panjokhra Sahib, Janetpur and Tasimbali villages. A number of villagers attended the talk. They were advised about economical and safe use of LPG. Free booklets were also distributed on the occasion. 

Bhiwani
ACCIDENT: One person was killed and three others were injured when two cars collided near Kharak village on Tuesday. One of the car drivers died on the spot, while Meena, Neerja and the driver of the other car sustained injuries.

THREE KILLED: Three persons, including two women reportedly killed in a road mishap on the Dadri-Delhi road on Tuesday. Two of the three deceased have been identified as Bhanwar Singh, a CRPF personnel, and Sharda of Nangloi, New Delhi.

Fatehabad
NOMINATED: Mr Rajinder Billa, president of the district unit of the youth wing of the Indian National Lok Dal, here on Tuesday announced office-bearers of the executive committee. In a press release, Mr Pramod Bajaj, spokesman of the district unit said, Mr Ram Chander, Mr Yadvinder Singh Rimpal, Mr Vijay Haripal and Mr Rajbir Beniwal were nominated block presidents of Fatehabad, Rattia, Tohana and Bhattu blocks respectively. Mr Maharaj Singh, Mr Satpal Siwatch, Mr Paramjit Malviya, Mr Depender Singh and Mr Beant Singh were nominated vice-presidents of the district unit. Mr Subhash Dhillon was appointed organising secretary and Mr Surender Lega general secretaryof the district unit.

Hisar
EMPLOYEES’ FAST: Members of the joint struggle committee of the sacked employees observed a 24-hour fast, which concluded at the local mini-secretariat on Tuesday. They submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the Deputy Commissioner.

DEMONSTRATION: Members of the Haryana Government PWD Mechanical Workers Union staged a demonstration in support of their demands here on Tuesday. The employees led by the state president of the union, Mr Ram Kumar Kadian, submitted a memorandum to the Divisional Commissioner.

STUDY CENTRE: The Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, has established a study centre for the session 2004-05 at Dayanand College. The Principal of the college, Mr Subhash Sharma, said the courses for BA, B.Com and MA (English) had been allowed at the centre.

Sonepat
FATAL FALL: Sunil, a 21-year-old youth, fell from a running train and was killed on the spot at Rajlu Garhi railway station, about 10 km from here, on Wednesday. The victim belonged to Ahir Maji village and was travelling in the 1 DPM passenger train from Sonepat to Ganaur. The Government Railway Police has sent the body for a post-mortem examination.

KILLED: Hari Om, a resident of Bhanderi village, was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a truck near Israna village, about 50 km from here, on Wednesday. The victim was returning to his village when the accident occurred. The police has registered a case and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.

CLASH: At least seven women were injured in a clash between two groups in Delhi Camp Colony here on Wednesday. The injured women include Seeta, Shanti and Bhanwan (one group) and Kamlesh and Roshi (another group) All the injured were hospitalised and were stated to be out of danger. A dispute over the taking of drinking water from tap is stated to be the cause of the clash. 

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Nahan
MEETING: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.L. Sharma, at a meeting of the rural development officers said on Monday the meeting of gram sabhas in every panchayat of Sirmaur district would be held on October 2 to approve the list of those who were living below the poverty line.

Shimla
ELECTORAL ROLLS: The Chief Electoral Officer, Ms Manisha Nanda, said the byelection to the Guler Assembly constituency would be held on October 13. The voters could get their names included in the voters' list up to September 15. The electoral rolls would be available in the District Election Office, Dharamsala, and in the offices of the SDM and the Tehsildar, Jwali, for inspection.

Solan
FISH MORTALITY: While expressing concern at the increasing rate of fish mortality in the Sarsa river, the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association (BBNIA) said on Tuesday that such incidents could not be attributed to industrial pollution as effluent treatment plants worth Rs 60-70 crore had been installed by various units in the region. The president of the BBNIA, Mr Rajinder Guleria, said the problem was more due to an increasing population in this industrial area.

CASE REGISTERED: The police on Tuesday registered a case under Sections 306 and 498-A of the IPC for abetment to suicide and cruelty against the husband of Seema, who died here on Monday, allegedly after consuming poison. He was later arrested.

CROP DIVERSIFICATION: Despite a prolonged dry spell in Himachal, the fruit production was slated to cross 5.5 lakh tonnes this year. Exhorting the agrarian community of the state to diversify to high-value crops from the traditional apple cultivation, the Himachal Prdaesh Horticulture and Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Mr Singhi Ram, said on Tuesday that horticulture and power could revolutionise the economy of the state. He was addressing faculty members and students of the Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni after inaugurating a girls hostel on the university campus.