R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

PUNJAB

Amritsar
ELECTED: Dr Adarsh Kumar, head cardiologist of Government Medical College, has been elected to ‘fellowship’ in American College of Cardiology. He will also attend the 54th annual scientific session to be held in Florida, USA, in March.

THREATENED: The Christian Vikas Manch (Rashtriyavadi) led by Bau Masih here on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation against the Diocese of Jalandhar, Sant Francis Church, and district administration if the authorities concerned failed to hand over the body of Father Mark Barnes to their followers for burial in St Mary School.

WORKSHOP: The local wing of the All-India Women’s Conference will hold a workshop on Floriculture on Thursday. The National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, will showcase dehydrated flowers and leaves could be used for preparation of greeting cards and landscapes.

RECOVERED: The Senior Superintendent of Police said here on Tuesday that the police had nabbed Manjit Singh, alias Minta, a resident of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, and seized 1.5 kg of opium from his possession. He said the police also arrested an inter-state gang of vehicle thieves and recovered six cars from them.

Hoshiarpur
CASE REGISTERED: The police here on Monday registered a case against travel agents, Gurbachan Singh of Ghogra and Kulbhushan Gill of Dasuya on the complaint of Amandeep Singh of Karari. Mr Amandeep Singh alleged that they had duped him of Rs 4 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. They neither sent him abroad nor returned the money.

KILLED: Jarnail Singh of Dadial succumbed to his injuries at Civil Hospital, Garhshankar, on Monday night. He was injured when some unknown vehicle hit his scooter near Padrana on the Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh road in the evening. A case has been registered.

LUDHIANA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Employees Union, Mata Rani Exchange: (indoor section) president — Mr Madan Lal; vice-presidents — Mr Nirmal Singh, Mr Swarn Chand and Mr Kanshi Ram; branch secretary — Mr Rajiv Sharma; assistant secretaries — Mr Lekh Raj, Mr V.K. Gupta and Mr Navneet K. Gupta; treasurer — Mr Bhagwan Singh; assistant treasurer — Mr Tulsi Ram; organising secretaries — Mr Lokesh Dutta, Mr Baldev Raj, Mr Madan Lal, Mr Parshottam Chand, Mr Achru Ram and Mr Piyush Verma. For outdoor section : president — Mr Tarlochan Singh; vice-presidents — Mr Suresh Kumar Khurana, Mr Balbir Singh and Mr Jarnail Singh; branch secretary — Mr Darshan Lal; assistant secretaries — Mr Pritam Singh, Mr Om Parkash Tiwari, Mr Swarn Singh Soni and Mr Dharam Pal; treasurer — Mr Sehja Nand; assistant treasurer — Mr Boota Singh; organising secretaries — Mr Narinder Singh, Mr Manjeet Singh, Mr Rattan Chand, Mr Jagdish Chand and Mr Amarjeet Singh.

PROTEST: The Primary/ Elementary Save Education Front has decided to go on a fast on March 10 in front of the office of the Director, Primary Education, Chandigarh. A meeting of the teachers was held here on Wednesday under the presidentship of Mr Piara Singh Dhillon in this regard. Teachers said despite several rounds of talks with Mr Harnam Das Johar, none of their demands had been implemented.

Elected: Mr H.S. Bangar was elected president of the Central Bank SC/ST/OBC Employees Association, Chandigarh zone, at the general body meeting of the association held here recently. While Mr V.K. Savangal was elected general secretary, Mr K.S. Sahota was elected treasurer of the association, a press note said.

CA BODY: Mr Subhash Jain was elected chairman of the Ludhiana branch of the Northern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India here on Tuesday. Mr Kawitansh Khanna was elected secretary, Mr Ashok Bansal, vice-chairman; and Mr Vishal Garg was elected treasurer of the branch, a press note said.

PATIALA
Fire at store: A fire broke out in a departmental store in Tripri last night causing a damage to goods worth a few lakhs. However, sources said a short circuit could be the most likely reason.

CHANDIGARH

MOHALI
FAREWELL GIVEN: Students of Dashmesh Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Phase 3B1, here today bade farewell to the Class X and Class XII students of the school. The students presented a cultural programme. Members of the school staff and the managing committee were given titles to make the occasion memorable. The school principal Mr Tirlochan Singh Sidhu addressed the students and wished them the best in life. Mr Hardev Singh Jatana prayed to God for the brilliant success of the outgoing students.

ANNUAL FUNCTION: Students of Swami Ram Tirath Public High School, Phase IV, here organised their annual prize distribution function in the memory of its founder president Hans Raj here today. More than hundred students of the school were awarded prizes for their achievements in various fields. Mr Rakesh Sharma, president of the school distributed the prizes. Mr P.H. Vaishnav, Ms Indu Bali, Mr Jugraj Singh, Mrs Kamla Thukral were also present on the occasion. The programme started with a saraswati vandana followed by devotional songs.

PANCHKULA
Neelgai killed: A three-year-old neelgai was reportedly killed by stray dogs near Bhogpur village in Pinjore today morning. Wildlife officials informed that the animal was chased by stray dogs, who bit the neelgai. It later died.

elected: Mr J.K. Malhotra has been elected as president of the House Owners Welfare Association, Sector 20. Other office bearers of the association are Mr J.K. Sharma, senior vice-president; Mr T.L. Kapoor, vice-president; Mr K.K. Jindal, general-secretary; Mr Upinder Nath, joint-secretary; Mr S.P. Singla, finance-secretary and Mr B.B. Sharma, organising-secretary. Ten executive committee members were also elected.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

Kumarhatti
BODY FOUND: A body has been recovered from the forest area of Aanji, near Barog, on Monday. The body, appeared to be that of a beggar, was noticed by villagers who informed the police. The initial inquiries revealed that the man had died due to severe cold condition as there was no injury mark on the body. The age of the deceased was around 30 years.

Nahan
CASE REGISTERED: Mr Surender Kumar, a resident of Rampur Jatan village, has filed a complaint with the police and alleged that Darshan Lal, a worker of Jai Bharat Rolling Mill, died while on duty due to an accident in the mill. He further alleged that the management of the mill and staff members of a nursing home at Kala Amb did not inform members of his family. A case has been registered against the management of the mill and the nursing home.

Shimla
OPPOSED: The local Association of the Medical and Dental College Teachers has opposed the proposed amendment to the recruitment and promotion rules for the post of principal in medical colleges. A delegation of the association met the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, and apprised him of the prevailing resentment in the faculty on this issue.

CONFERRED: Mr Yogendra Prasad, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, has been conferred the “Safety Award” by the Safety and Quality Forum of the Institution of Engineers. The award has been given in recognition of the safety initiatives adopted in practices. Mr Prasad said it was his endeavour to introduce better procedure in all areas of functioning, thus enhancing safety and well being of the corporation and its employees.